Binding Threads

[That idiot! I turned my back for o n e s e c o n d. How did he get away?]

Ichigo had already gone off to warn Rukia, who had been up until then, been keeping guard over Orihime to ward off any attempts on her life from Acidwire, leaving Chiaki in the chaos of the busy clinic. Before she could even think about going to help out the panicking Karin and Yuzu, she noticed an empty cot in the corner of her vision- Chad's bed to be exact. It was now her turn to panic as she saw the open window and realized what had happened, facepalming at her own ignorance.

"You know what, this is on me for forgetting this was going to happen."

Sighing deeply, Chiaki rubbed her temples in exasperation, trying to figure out a way to fix the situation. Ok, so… she could try and let things play out as they did in the original story, but that had already worked out poorly in the past. That's it's that ripple effect in play, it meant that her focus needed to be on the big picture since the small details were already too compromised to do anything about. Protecting the key players at this stage, Uryu, Orihime, Chad, and all the spiritual fighters in Karakura… that was her goal now, and while Rukia and Ichigo had part of that locked down, there was no guarantee that Chad would be alright if left on his own….

[Looks like I'll have to go after him then… Ok, think Chiaki, how are we gonna do this?]

Then, in a flash of inspiration, the answer came to her. Grabbing the first aid kit she'd used earlier to treat Chad, she started to simply walk out the door.

"Dad, Chad ended up running off through the window! Ichigo went after him but I'm going to keep looking!"

"He did what?! *Tsk*, alright, fine. Yuzu and Karin can help me hold down the fort for now, just get him back here and make sure he's ok!"

Chiaki didn't need to be told twice, walking outside and closing the door behind her, breathing a sigh of relief as she stepped into the cold light of the setting sun. Her relief was quickly replaced by a sense of determination, her mind dead set on finding Chad and the escaped bird. It seemed she'd have to try something from her bag of tricks a bit earlier than expected.

Chiaki raised a hand outward, focusing on the air all around herself, reaching deeper and trying to sense its composition. Reaching past the nitrogen and oxygen, and deep into the residual spirit particles in the air, Chiaki's mind let go of all awareness of the physical world, focusing entirely on the ebb and flow of the spiritual for a moment as she closed her eyes. She closed her eyes tightly, tight enough that she could feel her own heartbeat and lifeblood through her veins as everything was shut out. All that existed to her was the shifting of the spiritual.

For a moment, there was nothing, just the ambient spiritual pressure of the world around them. Then, something seemed to flicker within her perception. A single ribbon fluttered there, the flow of Ichigo's power given form. Then another: Rukia's. Then another two appeared, intertwined representing Yuzu and Karin. Chiaki fully opened her eyes, as her successful Reikaku manifested the spiritual pressures of all those around her, like threads of destiny tying together the entire town. Out of the entire tapestry being weaved in front of her, however, Chiaki only needed one string.

"Got you."

Chiaki grabbed the ribbon that belonged to Chad, containing the coalesced form of the dormant spiritual pressure within the teen. Chiaki bolted off without a moment of hesitation, dashing with a speed that no normal human could reach as buildings in her visions turned into blurs of wood and stone.

Within a minute, Chiaki reached the end of the thread, before stopping herself mid-run in front of the building where Chad was with an incredible skid that probably shredded half a centimeter off of the bottom of her sneakers as she screeched to a halt. She had to admit, that felt pretty epic, and she had surprised herself with the amount of spiritual power she was able to pull from her reserves. Maybe she had more power available to her than she realized… Now wasn't the time though.

"Chad! Where are you?!"

"Chiaki?!"

Chad's voice came from the side of the building, and she quickly circled around to check for him. Sure enough, huddled in an alleyway was Chad's muscular form with the parakeet that he had been protecting, still chirping its unnervingly human speech.

"Mister! Are we going to be ok?"

"Yeah, don't worry kiddo… this is a friend of mine… but Chiaki, you shouldn't be here. It's going to get dangerous soon, and I know you won't believe me, but…"

"There's an invisible force chasing you around town, and you don't know when it will find you again?"

Chad blinked for a few moments, processing the fact the information he was about to reveal had come out of Chiaki's mouth instead of his, before he leaned forward ever so slightly, looking a little curious, relieved, and almost… hopeful.

"You know what's going on, don't you?"

Chiaki scratched her head, unsure of how much she should reveal now. It seemed like there was no harm in telling him at least but… she should still take it slow and not overwhelm him. Crouching down to match the height of the sitting Chad, she gave him her best attempt at a reassuring smile

"I know a lot of things, but yeah, that's definitely part of it. I can tell you now, whatever's chasing you, I'm able to see it. I can also tell you that we're safe where we are for now. You can rest for a bit."

Chad's brow furrowed as she explained the situation, but he quickly accepted Chiaki's word as fact, and his shoulders visibly relaxed as some of the situation's tensions disappeared. His curiosity did no such thing, and while Chad was still very stone-faced, Chiaki could tell he still had a ton of questions to ask. Before either of them could speak though, the chirping voice of the bird interjected into the conversation.

"Ma'am, do you know where my mom is then? That ghost that's chasing us… he says he's going to bring her back to life! Maybe you know how to do that?"

Chiaki sighed deeply, avoiding eye contact with either the bird or Chad. This conversation was going to be hard, even for her: no one ever wanted to be told their loved one would be gone forever, but it needed to be said.

"Resurrection is impossible, and whatever that hollow told you is a lie. Your mom… she's in a better place now though… I can't send you there, but I know someone who can help you meet her again. It's the only option left to you now. I'm sorry."

There was silence for a moment, as the spirit within the parakeet seemed to be lost within its own thoughts for a moment as it slowly understood the meaning of her words. Chad held a somber look on his face, evidently having fully understood that the bird had to pass on now, but Chiaki understood that he knew as well as she did that he needed to hear this. Then, the bird tilted his head downwards, and despite the species barrier, Chiaki fully understood the spirit hiding inside was looking down in shame.

"It's impossible… I guess I always knew that was true, but… I wanted to hope… but now people are dead because of me… I got mister Chad hurt… maybe I'm an evil spirit too"

"No!"

Chad suddenly yelled with an explosion of emotion that shocked even Chiaki. Chad seemed to realize the scale of his outburst and quickly dialed his anger back as he turned toward the bird.

"I know you want to blame yourself but… I chose to protect you on my own, not because of anyone else. That's the burden of being strong, being able to do more… you have to help others. I'm protecting you because it's the right thing to do and because I'm the only one who can. There's nothing more to it."

Chiaki couldn't help but crack a smile at the scene. Reckless as he was, the one thing you could never call Chad was a coward.

"With great power comes great responsibility huh? Well, you're not the only protector around anymore Chad… don't forget, the burdens don't only lie on you. It's a bit arrogant to say you're the only one who can help him while I'm standing right here, dong you think?"

Chad's eyes widened a bit, and he raised his hand to protest a bit before Chiaki started to laugh.

"No no, it's fine… there is one thing I will say though, Chad. Protecting isn't just defending… it's also uplifting, helping, working together. Cheesy, I know, but it works. In fact, I have a plan. Bird kid… ok, that feels weird. First, tell me your name, then let me know what you know about this evil spirit. I think we can end this here and now…"